Category: Live Music

Reacquaintance

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I don’t know if it’s laziness or lack of practice, but I have not been doing due diligence to this blog.

Sorry!

Let’s try it again, shall we?

There have been side gigs, even doing sound, to keep me distracted, and some recording has been happening as well. Not like I’ve given up on music. In fact, I hope to have a few singles out shortly as soon as I can the guys into the ManCave to cut their tracks. I should have something to announce on most social media; Facebook, Instagram, Threads, BlueSky too now, but definitely not X. Those who know me get why.

Gigs are intermittent, a tribute to the challenge of performing all-original material, but thankfully, a tight network of mutually supportive musicians helps when possible. One such occasion is this Saturday, November 23 at the Black Swan Tavern on Danforth. The Cats have played there many times and it’s always a great venue. We’re opening for Sal Indigo aka Salabama aka Fishman with special guest Bruce Moore subbing on bass as NeMo is out of town with Reggadiction. I would not be surprised if others grace the stage as well. You’ll just have to come down to find out!

We’ll also be backing up so a full gig! Please note this is a late afternoon gig starting at 4, which could be great benefit for bar both hoppers AND early-to-bedders. Hope

What Now?

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2023 has been a very strange year.

Plenty of highs and far too many lows on a personal level. Here’s hoping the latter are passed.

It was also quite a year for variety, as I expanded the opportunities to play with other performers and unquestionably grew and learned from that.

Perhaps it was a bit distracting though.

So 2024 is resolved (so far, ha!) to be a back-in-the-saddle year for Félix & the Cats. The last month or so have been dedicated to gear upgrades and rationalizations. The voice lessons with the awesome Jaclyn Serre are starting to pay off too. A bit more commitment to getting the word out (yes we have stickers – thanks to Simon Quayle) and hustling gigs are also on the radar, as is a recommitment to this blog.

Oh, and I grew a beard.

Limited Edition

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This is a teaser, which I hope will end up meeting expectations.

When I was teaching, I noticed that often the most creative ideas occurred when there were limits imposed. This is not anything innovative on my part; perhaps I should have read more professional literature. This article from Fast Company goes into the subject in greater detail.

Still, that experience stuck with me, so I recently decided to test myself by imposing clear parameters to the writing of the next song: a common root note for all the chords and constrained writing for the lyrics (inspired by It’s still in development so no previews yet, but so far, it’s producing interesting results.

Live music is making a comeback, and I’m very glad that is happening for a lot of reasons. I hope musicians and audiences alike will continue to be safe. It’s tempting after months of being cooped up to want to celebrate, and adding alcohol into the mix could make some people forget themselves and the sanitary habits that have kept the pandemic relatively contained. Perhaps more than ever, it’s important to be cautious.

Until next time, be well!